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A question to test

“When the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, and one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” He said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” ” Matthew 22:34-40

I have read these verses so often – the greatest is – Love – Unconditional Love – Love is always the answer. Familiar verses. This morning He went straight to the question. I know the question.

Are you sure?

Yes – “which commandment is the greatest.”

You ever thought about that Paul – really thought about that? “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” … which commandment in the law … commandment in the law … in the law. THE LAW

Well not quite in that way but …

I never “changed the rules”, Paul. I never invented a “new way”. I never “had to come to earth” to introduce this revolutionary “Love Is Always The Answer”.

It was here all the time. Love was here all the time. Unconditional Love was here always. There was no “second covenant” other than in words. There IS always Love.

So why did you “come back”?

Do you know how many times I have been asked that? Do you know how many times I get asked “and when is the next time?” Always you ask … “when” … “why”.

Never … “love”. Never that. Even now … never that. Even after I “came back”, even after I “invented a new way”, even after “the cross” and all that.

Look around Paul, little pinpricks of love in a great darkness. Imagine the light if all these little pinpricks connected! What would that look like?

Forget the “when” – forget the covenants – forget the “truth” – the “facts of the matter” – forget “faith and belief” – forget all that “stuff” that “binds some in my name” (and excludes so many more also “in my name” – just the wrong names). See those verses?

The Pharisees couldn’t, so the Sadducees took over … sad innit … ?

The very LAW they sliced and diced, used for drive-by slaughter of the masses and each other, used to control and oppress and extort – that “LAW” which they venerated and went head-to-head over – that LAW they used to stone and kill – that LAW which they infiltrated into every area of living – that LAW … always had at its core:

“Love each equally.”

Yourself, your neighbour and your God. Your God, your neighbour and yourself. The order is irrelevant. There is no “God first – you second – and them third”. Love does not demand who gets loved more or less, first or last, better or worse. Love just …

IS

Love. Just. Is. Like the air we breathe, the water we drink, the hair on our head, the nails on our fingers, the colour of our skin, the size of our elbows …

(well – your questions and answers usually make as much sense as that last one).

You ever noticed that at the heart of EVERY “God” and EVERY “Law” is just Love?

And then you all tell me “that love is not enough” – that “we need the law” – that “we need to know who is who and what is what”. You tell me a lot. Always have done. And I have just one word in any language, any law, and any god (if you choose to hear) …

Love …

IS

Look around. It is not just “me” that dies to love. It happens every day in every country in every “faith” to every “god”. Just as killing does. Just as inhumanity does. Just as passing by on the other side does. Just as doing “enough” because “our faith” determines “what is enough” also happens in every country and every religion.

“Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” Love has ALWAYS been the answer – just you lot decide you know better. And that IS love in action!

Having the freedom for slice and dice, drive-by killings in my name, verse-offs, faith offs, denomination-offs, law offs, power politics off – all that “stuff”. That is freedom to choose to love or not, to live a life of love IS (or not). That IS the very definition of love. Freedom to choose who you love – and who you do not (love?). And that is why I never “had to come back” …

Love IS.

It IS beyond choice. It just IS. Always. Always has been. So when you ask your questions (for which the answer is always “love”) – don’t then kid yourselves when you hear the answer.

Love IS global, IS inter-galactic, IS infinite, IS eternal, IS for ever, IS for every second, IS for everyone, and IS you (if you allow). Love just IS. Love always has been.

About paulfg

4 thoughts on “A question to test”

Hi my friend,
As always, a great thought provoker from you. And so true: no buts. Just a thought that came as I was reading the passage. I hear what you are saying just after “Love each equally” but I’m not sure that I agree with that 3rd & 4th sentence.
In the Matthew verses it does say (v.38) that loving God ‘is the greatest and first commandment’. So that does put an order on things. However, I don’t think that order is about who deserves more love – or what the rank order for lovers is (not a phrase I’ve ever written before!!).
Perhaps Jesus is saying: start off by loving God – the rest then falls into place because when we give our love to max to God he just loves to so graciously accepts it and then passes it back to us to recycle everywhere.
My point: perhaps loving God does come first – which then makes sense of everything else and actually makes it more possible to achieve.

And reading you comments a thought crossed my mind – I love this fellowship! Does God love Jesus more than you or me? And how can I tell if He does. And can I tell (measure) whether I love God more than I love you (or me)? And if God indwells both of us – how do we work out that combo? And if He does really care who we love the most – why would that be? Once it “falls into place” maybe the order has no further purpose. Maybe! 🙂

My point was that it isn’t about quantities of love: we either love someone or we don’t. I can’t weight it out or measure its length or volume (which, to a scientist, is overwhelmingly appealing!)
However, loving God “first” (v.38) doesn’t have to mean “more” – but it sets and enables/encourages the right template for all the other loving that we should do.
No, God doesn’t love Jesus more than you or me. That’s the mind blowing thing – he loves me just as much as his only son who gave up his life for me to get that message. Wow that’s extreme love! There’s the template – do I love others as much as my son or daughter, or wife? I need to do a bit more work on that!